Weekly vs Monthly Repayments: What Actually Saves You Money
From Aaron’s YouTube: “Making extra payments is more important than paying weekly”
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Posted 18 December 2025
The short version
- Paying weekly instead of monthly doesn't automatically save you money or time on your mortgage
- A $500k mortgage at 6% takes 30 years at $3,000/month and costs $577,000 in interest
- Paying $750/week saves five years and $124,000 in interest, but only because you're paying $60 extra per week
- It's the extra contribution that makes the difference, not the payment frequency itself
The Weekly Repayment Myth
You've probably heard that paying your mortgage weekly instead of monthly will save you thousands and shave years off your loan. It sounds like free money—just switch your payment frequency and watch the savings roll in. But Aaron tested this claim with real numbers, and the truth is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
Take a $500,000 mortgage at 6% interest. If you pay $3,000 per month, you're looking at 30 years to pay it off and $577,000 in interest. Switch to weekly payments of $750, and suddenly you're mortgage-free five years earlier and you've saved $124,000 in interest. That's the story you'll hear everywhere. But there's a catch most people miss.
What's Really Happening With the Numbers
When Aaron plugged the numbers into a mortgage calculator, he found that $3,000 per month doesn't equal $750 per week. The true weekly equivalent is only $691. That extra $60 per week—$240 per month—is what's actually driving those impressive savings. You're not saving money because you switched from monthly to weekly; you're saving money because you're paying an extra $12,480 per year.
This is an important distinction. The payment frequency itself doesn't create the benefit. Whether you make extra payments weekly, fortnightly, or in one lump sum each year, the result is the same. You're reducing your principal faster, which means less interest compounds over the life of your loan. The frequency is just the delivery method for extra repayments.
Making Extra Payments Work for You
The good news is that extra payments genuinely do make a massive difference—Aaron's calculation showed five years and seven months off the loan term with those extra contributions. The key is understanding that you need to actually pay more, not just change when you pay. If you can only afford $691 per week, then paying weekly won't save you anything compared to paying $3,000 monthly.
If you do have room in your budget for extra repayments, paying weekly or fortnightly can make it easier to manage your cash flow and ensure those extra contributions actually happen. Just be clear on what's doing the heavy lifting: it's the extra money, not the calendar. Talk to your adviser about structuring your repayments in a way that suits your income cycle and makes it easy to chip away at that principal.
This is general information, not personalised financial advice. For advice on your situation, talk to Aaron.
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